Forest Whitaker (left) and Malachi Kirby star in A+E Studios’ reimagined “Roots,” a four-night, eight-hour events series based on the 1977 ABC miniseries. It premieres 9 p.m. Monday simultaneously on the History channel, A+E and Lifetime. Steve Dietl/A+E.

Today’s television viewers – particularly millennials digesting their favorite shows 10 episodes at a time on their phones – likely don’t remember or even know of the eight nights in 1977 when more than 100 million Americans gathered in front of their TV sets for “Roots.”

The pioneering television event series, an adaptation of Alex Haley’s novel, broke viewership records and became a cultural landmark for its unflinching depiction of slavery, told through the eyes of three generations of African-Americans living through the height of it.

“Roots” was the epitome of can’t-miss TV, bringing the issue of race and the darkest chapters of American history to viewers of every age and race.

The eight-hour series, however, has faded from the collective conscience over time, during which some of the program’s more melodramatic and white-serving narrative tactics have been criticized.

But to the surprise of no one, Hollywood’s inability to ever leave a good thing alone has resurrected “Roots” – and the timing couldn’t be better.

Beginning 9 p.m. Memorial Day, History channel, A+E and Lifetime will simultaneously premiere the “reimagined” four-night, still eight-hour “Roots,” an exceptional reboot that retells the sprawling American story and deepens its impact by taking into account historical findings unearthed since the original.

With racial injustice at the forefront of the country’s mind in an era shaped by the first black president and the #BlackLivesMatter era, “Roots” is the kind of timeless piece of storytelling that unfolds in the past but invokes the undeniable reverberations its has on the present.

Spanning more than 120 years, the series begins with (and is forever tied to) the story of Kunta Kinte (played by the astounding Malachi Kirby), an aspiring-but-still-young warrior for his people in Gambia, who is kidnapped, sold into slavery and brought to a still-infant America in chains.

It’s 1767 and in the face of brutal conditions, Kunta fights to hold onto his identity, despite his owner’s repeated violent attempts to strip him of it.

In a scene that caps off night one, Kunta is strung up to a pole and beaten until he succumbs to the name his master’s wife has given him. But by the time it happens, the stakes have already been set and the scene carries the weight of every lashing he endures. You feel it as a viewer.

Even under his unforgiving circumstances, Kunta finds friendship and love, and subsequent hours follow his daughter Kizzy (Anika Noni Rose), in whom he instilled his warrior spirit and steadfast appreciation of their heritage.

At the hands of her cruel owner, Tom Lea (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), a man obsessed with gaining social stature, she fathers a son, Chicken George (Regé-Jean Page).

Along the way, a whole host of capable supporting players – including Forest Whitaker as Kunta’s mentor, Fiddler; and Emayatzy Corinealdi as his wife, Belle – enrich the central family’s life – and unfortunately, provide more for them to lose.

No branch on the family tree is spared from the horrific, hard-to-stomach violence and emotional torture the privileged white colonists felt they were entitled to inflict. Repeated use of the n-word as a weapon of degradation, while commonplace then, never becomes less than startling.

Still, the fortitude of each character is nothing short of courageous. There is heart and humanity bursting through the darkness that surround Kunta and his descendants – a testament to an ensemble that is firing on all cylinders and reaching staggering depths of emotion. In their hands, the story is consistently compelling.

Much of the second half of the series is pinned to George, an optimistic man who has no time for stories of his grandfather’s culture as he sharpens his talents for cockfighting, raising his value to Tom – and attracting the eyes of other slave owners in the process.

But perhaps, the most devastating constant throughout the series is that closure is rarely afforded to many of the narrative’s threads.

TV viewers today demand a bookend for their gone-too-soon shows or short-order narratives in the form of rescued seasons, movies or just published postmortems from creators. But as “Roots” so boldly lays bare, history doesn’t care what you want.

The reality is, closure was not a luxury those who suffered through slavery were ever guaranteed, so why do we deserve it? As one character passes the story off to another (often times, forcefully), we are left with a void – one made all the more painful by the empathy earned from the performances.

In its revived form, “Roots” is now a visually stunning but still sweeping saga of Americans. It has changed here and there, but remains an unparalleled look into the lives of slaves – everything from their quest for love and family, to their disconnect with the very country they were raised in and the wars fought to control it.

It’s rare to say a reboot of a classic is necessary – or even good. But “Roots” is both.

As a country, one that has learned less from its mistakes than it would like to believe, we could use a reminder of our past.

Especially one as effective and deep-cutting as “Roots.”

Submit Your Comments

Name

Required

Mail

Required, will not be published

Website

Comment

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.